Prosecutor reviewing comments about Burris contact with Blagojevich

SPRINGFIELD - Exactly how Roland Burris became a U.S. senator continues to attract scrutiny in light of his acknowledgment that he had several conversations with top Rod Blagojevich aides about the post and even considered raising money for the embattled former governor before being picked.

Burris' recent comments contradict his previous testimony and sworn statements to a House impeachment panel, leading suburban lawmakers to join the growing chorus of those calling for Burris to quit before the state and its residents suffer any more political embarrassment.

In Greece today senior Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said he believes the testimony Burris gave to Illinois lawmakers was incomplete and a Senate ethics investigation is under way.

Durbin made those comments Wednesday while on a trip to Greece to discuss security in the region.

Durbin said he wants to be fair and review all of the documents, transcripts and statements involved.

Durbin said those statements need to be examined carefully. He said he believes that the investigation the Senate is undertaking is appropriate and that he'll wait for that investigation to be completed.

A fiery Burris, meanwhile, continues to strongly defend himself, saying he'd be too embarrassed to appear in public if the accusations against him were true.

Burris asked attendees at a City Club of Chicago luncheon Wednesday to stop the rush to judgment over his interactions with aides to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

It's unclear how much more the public will hear from Burris on the scandal. The Democrat said he'll no longer speak with the media.

Burris reiterated again that he'd done nothing wrong and had nothing to hide. He pledged to fully cooperate with the Sangamon County State's Attorney's investigation into his contacts with the Blagojevich administration.

Burris again stressed that he didn't contribute to the ousted governor after being contacted by Blagojevich's brother.

"In an ideal world he'd quit and apologize," said Marengo Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks, a member of the impeachment panel that investigated Blagojevich and took testimony from Burris.

A downstate prosecutor opened an investigation Tuesday regarding that testimony. Copies of Burris' statements and affidavits were sent to Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt, whose office has jurisdiction over the Capitol. Schmidt was in contact with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Burris' attorney Tuesday.

"We are continuing the investigation and review," Schmidt said. "I can't speak about the investigation itself."

Several lawmakers believe Burris perjured himself in his statements and documents. Appearing before the impeachment panel in January, Burris seemed to say he'd only talked to one Blagojevich insider - lobbyist and former chief of staff Lon Monk - about the Senate appointment. In an accompanying sworn statement, Burris offers a different take, saying Blagojevich's attorney Sam Adam Jr., was the first person he'd talked to about the Senate seat.

Now, Burris has filed follow-up documents in which he acknowledges talking to several Blagojevich insiders about the job, including the governor's brother and chief fundraiser. Then Burris told reporters the governor's brother wanted him to raise money for Blagojevich, something Burris said he tried but found people unwilling to give. He then concluded it was inappropriate to be raising money for Blagojevich at the same time he wanted to be named to the Senate.

Undaunted by the mounting criticism over this turn of events, Burris said he won't quit and told reporters he's open to a U.S. Senate ethics investigation.

Senate leadership is reportedly reviewing the matter.

It remains to be seen how aggressively the Senate would go after it's lone black member after leaders there bowed to growing sociopolitical pressure to seat Burris so the chamber would have a modicum of diversity.

Whether the U.S. Senate would take up such a complaint also is unknown. Just last year the ethics committee dismissed a complaint against a Louisiana Republican accused of soliciting a prostitute. Committee members said the alleged conduct occurred before David Vitter joined the Senate and noted he'd not been charged criminally.

In that sense, there could be debate over exactly when Burris became a U.S. senator. He'd yet to be officially seated by the U.S. Senate when he testified before state lawmakers as part of Blagojevich impeachment investigation. But the Illinois Supreme Court later ruled that Burris became the senator on Dec. 30 when Blagojevich signed the appointment.

Regardless, so long as Burris maintains he did nothing wrong and will stay in the post, it's unlikely anything will happen soon to change that. Criminal and ethical investigations would likely take weeks if not months to conclude and the primary election for this U.S. Senate seat is less than a year away.

State lawmakers are powerless regarding Burris. They could, and did, impeach and remove Blagojevich as governor, but have no similar authority over Burris' U.S. Senate seat. That impeachment panel won't reconvene to discuss Burris because his statements are now part of a criminal investigation, a House spokesman said.

"There's nothing that can happen," said state Rep. Jim Durkin, a Western Springs Republican and top GOP member of the impeachment panel. "It is what it is."

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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